What now? -Charge Point
By: Olive Baerde
Last Wednesday we had a speaker from Charge Point who taught us about the history of charging station for electric cars and its current status. Before this lecture, I did not know anything about Charge Point, including the details on electric vehicles. I found the overall topic very interesting. Charge Point, is one of the world’s leading electric car (EV) charging network. It has the most significant market share in the U.S for EV charging network. It serves more than 55,000 independently owned commercial public and semi-public charging spots. Unlike many of its European competitors who produced either the software or hardware, Charge Point is the only charging company that does everything. They design, develop, and manufacture both the software and hardware. Also, they spent many resources on further research and development of its charging station.
Global Warming is a real threat as we observed and experienced increasingly extreme weather conditions seen all around the world. We all need to take urgent actions against climate change. The newest report by UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that we only have 12 years to limit climate change before it causes a catastrophe. The popularization of charge point is crucial because it will reduce global warming emissions which will improve our public health and climate. The president of Charge Point, Pasquale Romano, pledged to expand their global network to 3.5 million places to charge electric cars. He believed that “‘We are at the tipping point of a revolution in transportation and this agreement underscores our commitment to providing charging solutions everywhere EV drivers go by increasing access to broadly distributed charging solutions that are vital to ushering in the next chapter in mobility’” (Pereira).
A fact I was surprised about in this lecture was that the electric car was invented in the 19th century. I found this weird considering that electric cars are still a concept that many people find unfamiliar. The guest speaker explained to us the reason why electric cars’ growth was delayed. It was because companies like Ford and big gas companies wanted to inhibit the development and production of electric vehicles so consumers would be kept using gas and increase their profits. I hope there will be more mass educational outreach on the benefits of electric cars and the dangers of climate change to the general public to make people make the more environmentally conscious decision.
https://www.realwire.com/releases/ChargePoint-and-EVBox-Pave-the-Way-for-Fully-Electric-Future
https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicle-benefits
